Chapter 27 #2
‘Will you be OK on your own for a few minutes?’
‘Don’t be silly. I have been socialised. I’ve only got to walk about fifty metres down there. Go and see to Grace.’
Sofia peeled off to her left and gently knocked at the door of one of the white houses above the cove.
‘Come in!’
Grace stood in her white lace underwear in the kitchen. She turned at the sound of the door being opened and appraised her friend’s outfit.
‘Woah, hot stuff.’
‘Hot stuff yourself! How did you know it was me? I could have been anyone. And you’re in your knickers.’
Grace moved to enfold her in a hug.
‘I saw you coming up the path.’
‘Why aren’t you dressed? They’re all waiting.’
‘I only need to throw the dress over my head. I wanted to have a moment alone with you first. You’re so much a part of my story.’
‘Aw!’
Grace pulled Sofia in further and kissed her on the top of her head.
‘Let’s have a quick drink to us.’
Two full champagne flutes were waiting on the table. Sofia picked up the nearest one and handed the other one to her friend.
‘To us!’
The two women downed the icy liquid side by side.
‘Us.’ Grace put down her glass. ‘Also, I wanted to give you something.’
‘What is it?’
‘Hang on a moment, Miss Impatient.’
Grace handed over a slim wrapped box, which Sofia ripped into and pulled out a thin gold bracelet studded all round with tiny red stones.
‘Oh, it’s gorgeous. Can I wear it now?’
‘That’s the idea.’
Grace fixed the bracelet around Sofia’s tiny wrist.
‘I couldn’t imagine having anyone else as my bridesmaid.’
‘I’d have been furious if you did.’
‘Exactly.’
‘But now, madam, it’s time to get dressed.’
Sofia pulled Grace’s simple white linen shift dress shot through with silver from its hanger.
‘This is lovely.’
‘It has a special meaning for us. It was the dress I wore to Will’s space party, right here in this house. The first time we danced together, the first time I felt my body respond to his—’
‘OK, let’s stop it there. You need to actually put it on, unless you’re planning to walk down the aisle in your underwear. Poor Will’s going to think you’ve deserted him.’
‘He’s made of stronger stuff than that.’
Grace’s dreamy smile wasn’t getting them anywhere.
‘Dress. On.’
‘What a bossy bridesmaid.’
Sofia slipped her arm through Grace’s as they checked themselves for a final time in the large, blue-framed mirror above the table.
Grace smiled at their reflection.
‘White and red. The good girl and the naughty girl.’
‘Which is which?’
‘Hard to tell. I think we’re all a bit of both.’
Sofia handed her one of the posies of red roses casually tossed on the table and grabbed the other one for herself.
‘Are you finally ready?’
‘As I’ll ever be.’
The walk down the aisle was a riot of cheering and clapping.
Sofia smiled at Charlotte, but her heart missed a beat when she saw Adonis staring straight at her.
He’d said he wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to get away in time, but here he was, his blond good looks standing out in a sea of dark heads.
Their joint present to the happy couple, which Grace had no idea about, was the honeymoon suite at the hotel for the night, before they left for Australia tomorrow.
The couple’s luggage had been smuggled out and taken to the hotel earlier.
Angeliki was looking after Karen the cat, so she was in on it too.
They’d nearly reached the top of the aisle, and Will still had his back turned away from his bride. Angeliki and her boyfriend, Nick, were level with them now on their right as they paused for Grace to blow a kiss to her friend.
Sofia took Grace’s posy and moved to the chair set aside for her at the front, just as Will turned.
She wouldn’t have wanted to miss that first look at Grace for anything in the world.
The love it contained was boundless, and glancing back at her friend told her Grace returned his love a millionfold.
She had absolutely no doubts about this marriage going the distance.
The simple but heartfelt ceremony with its personalised vows, as the guests watched the sun go down, moved everyone to tears and she locked eyes with Adonis as the celebrant invited Will to kiss the bride.
There was certainly fire between her and her Greek lover – she couldn’t wait to get him back to their room later and tear his clothes off – but how could there be anything else? It just didn’t add up.
The age gap between them, his crazy mother, a jealous receptionist, and the full stop on him ever having children of his own were just some of the major stumbling blocks, plus he was from a different culture, a whole different country.
Adonis’s life was here, on a Greek island in the middle of the Aegean.
She was essentially a tourist he occasionally had fun with.
She had fun too, a lot of fun. But it was time to think about the next stage in her life. There was no place for her here.
The drinking and dancing on the beach to music from around the world went on long after darkness had fallen. All the neighbours had been invited to the wedding, along with a few friends and colleagues.
Crates of iced champagne and beer were refilled the moment they ran low, and a mass delivery of delicious gyros kept everyone from keeling over halfway through the revelry, alongside an enormous tower of red and white cupcakes.
It was just as Grace had wanted it, mused Sofia: intimate and unfussy. Her friend and her new husband only had eyes for each other the whole evening, as it should be.
Every time she’d sought out Adonis, he’d seemed to be staring at her too.
Between them, they knew a large proportion of the guests, but finally they stopped chatting to other people and got together for a slow dance.
Just the touch of his hands up and down her back had her desperate to get back to his flat for their last night together.
The happy couple stumbled over just before midnight to thank them both for their generous gift and were now about to depart in one of the hotel’s luxury limos.
Grace leaned into her as they hugged goodbye and whispered in her ear.
‘Don’t let this one slip through your fingers.’
Will’s arm round his new wife’s waist pulled Grace away before Sofia could explain the impossibility of the situation.
Sofia caught up with Charlotte as they lined up along the path to wish the newlyweds well.
She’d been keeping an eye on her friend throughout the evening, but Charlotte seemed perfectly at ease, talking to complete strangers and dancing with Angeliki’s amiable boyfriend, Nick, who turned out to be quite a mover.
Sofia threw her arm round her friend’s shoulders.
‘Have you enjoyed the wedding?’
‘I’ve loved it. I haven’t stopped chatting and boogie-ing all night.’
‘And you’re sure you don’t mind me leaving with Adonis now Mads has gone off? I’ll be back for breakfast.’
‘Of course I don’t mind. Actually, I’m not going to be on my own.’
‘Oh?’
‘Don’t worry. Not planning on a one-night stand. I’m off to a bar with Angeliki and Nick. They’re going to drop me back later.’
Sofia’s worry about leaving her friend on her own vanished with the dusk. She could finally enjoy the rest of the night with Adonis without feeling guilty.
‘Great.’
Grace and Will blew kisses to everyone as they made their way up the path. Sofia got a real kiss and a thumbs up from her friend.
The moment the car drove off, Adonis grabbed her hand.
‘Sofia, we need to talk. And I mean really talk this time.’